Billionaire Elon Musk pulled the plug on his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, accusing the company of "misleading" statements about the number of fake accounts.
In a regulatory filing, Elon Musk's lawyers said Twitter had failed to respond to multiple requests for information on fake or spam accounts on the platform, which is fundamental to the company's business performance.
Elon Musk also alleged that Twitter breached the agreement when it fired two top managers, without his consent as required by their contract.
Twitter's chairman, Bret Taylo, said the board will pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement," Mr Taylor tweeted.
The terms of the deal require Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk to pay a $1 billion breakup fee if he does not complete the transaction.
In May, Mr Musk said he was putting the deal on hold until the social media company provided details to back its claim that spam or fake accounts constitute less than five per cent of its active users.
One of the reasons Elon Musk gave for his interest in taking Twitter private was his belief he could add value to the business by getting rid of its spam bots - the same problem that he's now citing as a reason to end the deal.